Cassowaries

Cassowaries (Indonesian: kasuari; Biak: man suar 'bird strong'; Tok Pisin: muruk) are flightless birds of the genus Casuarius, in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites, flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones. Cassowaries are native to the tropical forests of New Guinea (Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea), the Moluccas (Seram and Aru Islands), and northeastern Australia.

Three cassowary species are extant. The most common, the southern cassowary, is the fourth-tallest and third-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the two species of ostrich and the emu. The other two species of cassowary are the northern cassowary and the dwarf cassowary; the northern cassowary is the most recently discovered and the most threatened. A fourth, extinct, species is the pygmy cassowary.